The call for GAA referees in Tipperary goes on as they are in short supply

Referees are hard to come by and are getting rarer by the day in the GAA world. Games had to be called off last year because no one was available to referee and the same situation looks likely again this year as the county leagues start up very soon. Last year Fergal Horgan spoke out here: Fergal Horgan Interview 2023 about how the situation was becoming a big issue rapidly however the situation continued and now the shortage of referees grows more acute. 

The GAA in Tipperary are now looking for new people to take up the whistle: "With the growth in popularity of Gaelic Games, the demand for match officials is increasing. With over four thousand games being played in our county on an annual basis, the role of the referee is a particularly important cog of the wheel to ensure all games take place. However, we are seeing a drop in our current crop of officials, due to injury, work life balance and age-related factors. During the last GAA season in 2023, a number of games had to be cancelled due to no referee available. This was very unfair to the clubs affected in these fixtures. Out of the 71 clubs in Tipperary, we have 13 clubs without referees. This represents 18% which is not acceptable. Our target is that every club has an active referee. We are at a crisis in Tipperary in relation to the number of qualified active referees," a recent GAA statement read. 

Their wil be training provided: "Basic Club Referee Training Courses are provided every year by trained Referee Tutors in County Tipperary. Last year we trained 9 new recruits . The first two Modules will be completed online by the student in the comfort of their own home, while the next two modules will be completed as a group in Thurles. Timeframe is these is early March. The course is developed in conjunction with Croke Park and supported through the Provincial Munster Referees Administrators." The Training Course is now open to interested candidates to register.

All clubs who do not currently have a referee in their club are encouraged to trawl their membership for prospective candidates. As there are 13 clubs in Tipperary without an active referee.

Please forward on details of interested candidates to any of the following personnel listed below or email this address: refereesadministrator.tipperary@gaa.ie

REFEREE RECRUITMENT COMMITTEE Philip Kelly Chairperson (North Division) 087 286 3683, John Ryan Secretary (West Division) 086 241 7763,  Michael Kennedy (South Division) 087 990 7661, John McCormack (West Division) 087 790 5630, Seamus Delaney (Mid Division) 087 639 6698, Alan Tierney (North Division) 087 415 9247.

Or from any member of the Referees Administration; Philip Kelly (Chairperson), John Bob Ryan (Secretary) Franny Quinn (Divisional Administrator West), Miceal McCormack (Divisional Administrator South), Ciaran Timmons (Divisional Administrator North), TBC (Divisional Administrator Mid)